Strong sales across all of Sony’s PlayStation hardware range over the past financial year have left the electronics giant feeling confident that it can still fend off Microsoft’s Xbox 360.
During the financial year ended 31 March 2008, Sony sold 9.2m PlayStation 3 consoles globally – an increase of 5.6m on the previous financial …

Queue Mark....

The BluRay effect

I hate to say I told you so, by winning the HD disc format competition, having a built in BluRay disc would reap rewards in sales....

MS will no doubt be working on the XBox 180, with a Bluray disc and motion/accel/pointer/feedback speaker controllers. Since it's tendency is to throw everything it can think of into a product and hope people buy for the feature list.

RRoD adjusted?

I wonder if MS's figures are adjusted for the RRoD plague. If not, then that puts the global 360 sales at around 14-15million units, which is shocking given the 12 months lead the console has had over the PS3, as well as the bigger and better games library.

Didn't Aaron Greenberg of Microsoft recently have a whinge about Sony, because they have to compete against "Sony Hype" rather than what Sony has produced? The way I see it, if Microsoft can't compete against it, then it's Microsoft who is doing something wrong, not Sony.

Sony, my brother

Blah Blah Blah

Bill Gates sucks. I love my 360. I hate Sony. My PS3 rocks. Nintendo make consoles for kids. I play on my Wii more than anything else.

All in all, makes about as much sense as the usual flames wars over the consoles. Personally, I wonder why people spend so much time and vehemence over the matter when they could be using said consoles for fun.

Queue Rants at "Mark".. again

*Yawnage* and before the fella has even posted.

:o)

"Microsoft not worried about Sony?"

Erm.. what Forum is that then? i think you are being very biased as I would place the Xbox and PS3 with AVFreaks/Hardcore/Online Gamer. Can't seperate them, and i think your info is just good ol' fashioned fanboy "FUD" ;o)

There will always be +ves and -ves for each of the Phony/Micro$haft machines.. Pick the one you want and stop bleating about how bad the other one is..

Yes, the "DLC" is available for the Xbox... Whoppee do. More money spent by the M$. Bothered? Nope, as my online experience is still free. Yup, still got my Elite, but not for GTA4.

Re: Microsoft not worried about Sony?

@ AC

Xbox 360 for Hardcore/Online Gamer? Don't you mean a PC. I'm sorry to say but FPS shooters don't really work on consoles. Racing games maybe but I just use a game pad not too dissimilar from an Xbox one to play them on a PC. Last I checked I didn't have to pay to play online on either the PC or PS3(I personally don't play MMORPGs for this reason - hell, I've already payed for the game and yes, I'm a tight git). As for the PS3, I bought it to play games - the Blu-Ray drive, media abilities etc. is all an extra bonus and just saves me plugging a PC into my TV!

As for the "exlcusive" downloadable content, it actually annoys me that Microsoft are basically bribing companies to get the exclusives, but then again why would they change their business practice after all these years! I suppose they have to do something with the money they get from charging to play games online!

Saying all this though, once I finish a game on a console, I always end up back on my PC, playing Battlefield 2 online, for free! Roll on Battlefield 3 (well ok, Bad Company too, but that one doesn't count!) Hell, I prefer my PC, bought a PS3 becuase I had a PS2 and didn't buy a 360 because I'm fed up of lining Microsofts pockets! And I prefer going to the gym or playing squash than playing on a Wii. I love inciting console-ist hatred!

Microsoft paid reputedly $50m to get the expansion pack to be XBox360 only. Which sounds like 'Paramount signs exclusive to HDDVD' thing, it's good for a few headlines, but Paramount now produce Bluray discs and HDDVD is long gone. In the long run it just hurt Paramount. What it tells us is Microsoft is desperate for XBox360 games and will pay good money to get bonus features for their console.

Now lets look at the games chart.

XBox 360 Grand Theft Auto IV 3,297,606

PS3 Grand Theft Auto IV 2,597,781

So 1 in 5.7 XBox users have bought GTA4 and 1 in 4.85 PS3 users have bought GTA4. So you can claim PS3 users are playing only BluRay discs on the console, but the games sales figure say they are MORE likely to buy the game than the XBox360 users.

So if anything PS3 are more 'hardcore' gamers than XBox360.

To me GTA4 is like reality TV, 'Big Brother IV, this time the Lesbians have Guns', tired format, boring location, too much hype, same old stuff. I prefer Mario Galaxy, new imaginative designs, the motion sensors makes for new control modes (e.g. the balancing ball world), and the sheer beauty of the place. I know people like their reality TV and their soap operas, but the lack of imagination I find mind numbing.

@Anon

@AC

I have to kind of agree with the GTA comment. Probably just over half way thru the single player and already getting kinda bored :( Its like playing the same game again, they even stripped out half the 'fluff' that was in SA that was actually fun (anyone else want to base jump in New Yo...Liberty City?)

As for the sales, well here's hoping Sony has an even better financial year this time around :)

Side note : Aparently the PS3 made more money for EA this year, not sure how that works exactly, I think the diff. was about $30-$40 million.

WTF?

How the feck could anyone say "the lack of imagination i find mind numbing" in reference to GTA4? Its clear to anyone with half a brain the amout of time and effort that has been put into the title, to say it suffers from lack of imagination is pure ignorance!

I know this bears no relation to this particular article but upon reading that comment i felt it my duty to respond.

First time for everything...

Having both of the offending consoles GTAIV is the first cross platform game I have bought for the PS3, what really annoys me, but at least it seems to be changing now, is that the PS3 games are still more expensive than the 360 games no matter where you buy them from...

buggers!

Roll on PS3 only games that use huge chunks of the BRdisk storage available then I'll be a bit happier (or maybe we'll just have much bigger shit games ;-)

The microsoft mentality as echoed by it fan boi / shills

Win at all costs, We must leave no competitor standing, there can be only one winner - and it won't be the consumer ...

The article here tells us Sony is happy with the ongoing sales of the PlayStation product range, including all THREE versions currently in production. Also that they're still selling a healthy number of their last generation product.

For once the idiot fan boi's with their '360 is better, its only a blue ray player' bleating seem to have shut up pretty smartish.

Perhaps those fan boi's might like to step back and remember that Sony is a very large consumer electronics company used to selling into a multitude of markets with a multitude of competitors. They would appear to be happy so long as they capture a profitable percentage of that market and have always tended to pitch themselves towards the luxury end of the market, as BMW used to.

Contrast that with the embrace, extend, extinguish business practices of Microsoft and their loss leading entry into the console market in an attempt create more of their loved consumer lock-in. And a monopoly is good for who?

Do you expect their to be only one brand of fizzy drink? One brand of TV? One car manufacturer? No?

Then maybe you might understand why Sony has been happy playing the long game, and unlike Microsoft they don't feel the need to 'f**kin kill' the competition.

I certainly don't believe in benevolent corporations, but have always found Sony consumer gear to be extremely good quality, usually worth the slight premium you sometimes might have to pay. And thats why I always put them at the top of my list when looking at any shiny new toy. Microsoft? They haven't made a decent product since the v.2 mouse, so are always at the bottom of the list, if they manage to get on it at all.

Which probably explains why they so desperately need their name to be the only one on the list!

Mark is queuing for...

:-O

I'm simply amazed that the same comments are posted regarding the PS3 & 360. Just amazed. I remember the MD v SNES & PSX v N64, etc. But this generation just seems to be soooo whiney and annoying. I can't believe how it's the same bitching in every single mention of either console.

@Mark H.

A free repair service is generaly a replacement 360 with the appropriate air-card and hard disk swapped out, because there isn't a lot you can do with a console that has pretty much melted away the solder from most of its components.

I'm willing to bet that Microsoft count every repair (which is really a new unit) as a sale too.

Does anyone else simply not care?

Or is it just me that is entirely happy with the role each of the three current console fill in my home?

Fuck this "my expensive lump of plastic is better than your expensive lump of plastic" rubbish. The only people who bitch and snipe at one another are those that can't afford more than one and are using a non-issue to cover their bitterness. Or have blown all their pocket money from Mom and Dad on "the wrong one" and can't get them to buy them another one.

Console?

So at this rate...

Assuming the current sales rate of the 360 and PS3 remain the same, the PS3 won't overtake the 360's sales until mid-2010. It's lucky Sony will soon be able to turn a profit on each PS3 sold as they're not going to be leading this generation with consoles sold any time soon.

@ James

Nah, they generally replace the motherboard, that's what they did with mine - the serial number was exactly the same. Not sure what an 'air-card' is but you don't even send them the hard drive - you detach it before returning.

I know the RROD problem has been serious but MS have been very good over it (far better than Sony when early PS2's had disc drive problems) and they've gotten over it now. There's no way they would count a replacement console as a 'sale' either.

@So at this rate

Ignoring iSuppli's made up numbers for console costs I'd wager that the PS3 hit profitability pretty fast. What your assessment is missing is an important number to corporations: Revenue.

Even with the Wii taking the gross sales numbers, at its much lower price it will not be making the same sorts of revenue and therefore limits it longer term profitability compared with the PS3 - a 5% efficiency gain in manufacturing on the Sony box is worth considerably more profit than it is on the Nintendo one.

Cost of games

Ah, more lies and hearsay...

GTA IV for XBox - 39.99

GTA IV for PS - 39.98

Of course if you're a moron and go to a high street shop instead of buying online PS3 may well be more expensive but as far as I've seen, they're the same. RRPs are maybe more expensive but to the reasonably wise it's all the same.

Given the relative sales, it would seem to me that the split for GTA IV is pretty even. I'd also agree that it's overrated. I didn't think of the base jumping thing, now I'm sad :o(

@Mark H

Guess you missed my 'I certainly don't believe in benevolent corporations' comment. I'm sadly old enough to not expect Sony to be whiter than white in everything.

However, I would have trouble believing any of their senior people would throw chairs in a meeting and proclaim they want to 'f**kin kill Toshiba'.

Being miffed at a gaming site, because they went against your wishes and printed a rumour, is hardly in the same league now is it? And they were back on speaking terms in short order.

As for Lik-sang? Weren't they originally sued by ALL the console makers over their mod-chips? Then they decided it would be a good idea to get into the grey import business. Hey, even Tesco's have been burnt by that one. Whatever your feelings about its benefits to consumers, you have to acknowledge that under the current laws it's a dodgy area of business to get into with some substantial risks. They certainly weren't a Sony competitor at the same level as say Toshiba, Panasonic, Samsung, LG, Nokia or Microsoft which was my point.

@ Schroeder (and all other Sony fanbois)

QFT: "I would have trouble believing..." what part of candyland do you live in?

how quickly and conveniently people forget the damage Sony did with their rootkit fiasco (people are still being negatively affected by this). Beyond that, Sony regularly proves itself to be just as devious as M$ in their aggressive tactics in the media format market. Basically, my impression is that you believe Sony wouldnt have pulled the same proprietary lock-in tactics M$ uses, had BetaMax, MiniDisc, Sony Dynamic Digital Sound, ATRAC, HiFD, Super Audio CD, Universal Media Disc, or Hi-MD had been adopted as standards (and doesnt when they win)?

Sony looks to control the media markets thru agressive lock-in tactics when they control a format, and will continue to prop up a defeated format as long as it can, far beyond the final death rattle, in order to destabilize the accepted standards so that they have a better footing in the next battle. Fighting the standards they dont own, and jealously controlling the standards they do sounds awfully M$ to me.

They undermine the media industry and regularly work against the common good (learn what the Nash equilibrium is). Sony is hostile to the consumer markets in a similar way that M$ is hostile to consumer markets; and neither is good for anyone.

oh and..

remember who is wanting all of those lock-ins "@ Schroeder (and all other Sony fanbois) " AC? That's right, the industries they are producing these formats for. Agreed that Sony has both a movie and music arm to their wing, but they each run seperately with only a few collusions. Not defending them, as Rootkits are pants, but let's get the "Story Straight"

"Sony is hostile to the consumer markets in a similar way that M$ is hostile to consumer markets; and neither is good for anyone" - Agreed, but at least we have got this far by what they have developed. Hard hitting for the early adopters in some cases, but ultimately things sort themselves out in the end. This is the world we live in, try as you might, it'll be difficult to change.

@AC

Surprised the rootkit wasn't mentioned earlier. But then that was their RIAA loving media arm, not the consumer electronics arm. It's been noted on here before, that those two arms of the Sony business seem to work against each other at times.

As for lock-in. Nice to see an AC doing the Microsoft indirection defense of claiming that, actually, its everyone else doing those bad things, never us.

For all those technologies you mentioned, have Sony ever been in a Monopoly position in another market, that allowed it to use the kind of strong arm business tactics with competitors that Microsoft does to force uptake? The fact you feel none of them succeeded, despite some of them being acknowledged as the superior solution, should give you your answer. From what I gather, though, Sony still makes a decent profit of the first two you mentioned in the professional video and audio markets.

The point is that Microsoft is using its windows monopoly to allow it to take a substantial loss, in return (it hopes) for locking the consumer media space in the microsoft mothership. It started with pushing PC games onto Direct X at the expense of openGL, then made sure its 'console' (not much more than a cut down cut down PC, I seem to remember, at at time when Sony, Nintendo et all were still doing custom chip development) was based on that API, allowing PC games to be quickly and easily ported. Maybe now, with the PC games market dying, some of Microsofts PC partners might wake up to the fact that Microsoft is trying an end-run around them in the consumer space. The more features (web etc) that get pushed on to the consoles, the smaller the market for home PC's becomes. Microsoft doesn't care about that too much now, because with the XBOX, they now get the money for the whole bundle, including games licenses and an online subscription, rather than just the OS license. How many times have see seen this before? Office suites? Browsers? The Groklaw site has nice archive page on Microsoft's past behavior for those that are still unsure. What's the games theory for that called?

On the other hand, I don't think its 'candyland' to believe that Sony see the Playstation range as just another consumer range, in a crowded consumer market place, just like their TV's, PC's, camera's, phones, CD and DVD players. As I said, they're a big corporation, so they can never be perfect, but they're nowhere near Microsoft in terms of pure greed.

I only buy Sony gear when I feel its better than the competition for a comparable price. I've bought some recently. Microsoft haven't come close to meeting that criteria for a good while.

Why bother?

I dont know why I even bother, people are so lost in their <insert multinational corporation> fanboi-ism that they cant even go two seconds without assuming someone who is speaking against the company they worship is in bed with the company's competitor (and their arch-rival). It's as bad as Red vs Blue politics here in the USA.

Shroeder, I despise microsoft, and i never said they were better or less harmful to the world than Sony. In fact I made an effort to state the fact that I consider M$ just as bad as Sony. The point is simply that Sony is bad for all of us, just as all other multi-national corporations are. You stating that M$ is worse thru it's OS monopoly than Sony is thru its harmful (and illegal) activites and anti consumer formats does not take away from the fact that SONY IS BAD FOR US! Get that thru your head, and if you respond, please dont mention M$ I hate M$ like you! Convince me that Sony is not bad, and dont do it by comparing it to another company. Another's actions does not absolve the one in question's guilt.

I own a Linux computer, I search the net with Scroogle (not google), I dont buy proprietary gaming consoles, I use unlocked GSM phones with VoIP, etc, etc. so I'm speaking from a position as one who is very concerned about the future of our world and individual freedom. The corporation is fast overtaking government as the biggest threat to our personal freedoms in the western world. Wake up, your loyalty to a company that does not care about anything but the bottom line is severely misplaced.

@Alex, we got here by what individuals developed, not what corporate entities developed. If anything the corporate model has stagnated many markets (look at the operating system market), and I would say the HD formats are attempting to keep us in the disc age longer than neccessary. Ultimately tho, its not about needing to change anything, its rather more about understanding the realities and working as an individual to free yourself from these attempts at control over you and your life. It is not as hard as it looks, the world we live in has options outside of the ones the multi-national corps give us, they just are not as well advertised.

re: Queue Mark....

@AC

"Ah, more lies and hearsay...

GTA IV for XBox - 39.99

GTA IV for PS - 39.98"

I'm not sure who the moron is here, I've never paid more than £30 for a 360 title but can't seem to ever find the PS3 title discounted.... that was pretty much my point but thanks for the insult any way ;-)

Oh and as for GTAIV, I wouldn't rate it 10/10 like some of the games magazines but it is pretty good and I guess it's going to take me a lot longer to finish than Halo3 or CoD4 did.

WOW!

Nearly 56 MILLION PSP's sold?!!

Christ almighty.

If only Sony hadn't cocked up the easily hackable firmware and lovely pirate game boot-a-bility(much more convienient having games on a card than juggling those poxy discs about), the thing might have had some software selling.